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If our hair was on trial
If our hair was on trial
And it was called to testify
And tell the truth
Of what the world put it through
It tells the stories
Of all the hairstyles
That it was
It starts with when it was cornrows
It takes the jury back to the fields
Where the blistering heat
Sucked the life out of it
But it tells us a secret
Kept hidden throughout history
Of stories Of survival
To send messages without the slave owners knowing
A way to escape and a form of rebellion
It helped with their freedom
It talks about the how it has been an afro
An act of radical expression
A form of resistance
To say you can't control us
But it also talks about how the system
Tried to silence its existence
And how the ignorant
Took it as an invitation
To touch it without permission
It then talks about all the different braids it was
How it was a form of creative expression
How it captured everyone's attention
In awe of its versatility
But also causing jealousy
This was apart of black legacy
The jury have made their decision
And gone through generations of history
To find our hair not guilty
They offer their apologies
Of the brutality
We endured throughout history
And for us this would be a victory
Copyright ©
Layla Riley-Hill
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